DEsign for healthy ageing: a smart system to decrease LONELINESS for older people (DELONELINESS)
Lead Research Organisation:
King's College London
Department Name: Engineering
Abstract
Loneliness is a growing health concern in a rapidly ageing society. As Age UK noted in 2018, 1.4 million older people class themselves as often lonely, and it is estimated this will rise to 2 million people over the aged of 50 by 2025. Loneliness, typically defined as a "discrepancy between one's desired and achieved levels of social relations" is generally experienced by over one third of older people. The subjective feeling of loneliness has been associated with a range of negative outcomes including increased prevalence of physical and mental illness, all-cause mortality, and risk of self-harm. Whilst issues of loneliness may be overlooked by health and social service professionals, the COVID-19 pandemic could have accelerated these issues due to lockdown. Reduced access to social support networks, community events and family highlight the need to detect and support those who are lonely at home. It is of paramount importance to refine methods of identifying loneliness in those who are isolated to allow timely and effective intervention. This proposal aims to develop a smart monitoring and communication system with multifunctional electronics built into textiles used as wearables and home furniture to measure loneliness levels in older people.
The timely and accurate identification of loneliness of older people will enable informed care choices at home. The main objective of this research is to determine different levels of loneliness via bespoke multi-sensing monitoring. This could be used to identify those at risk of loneliness and highlight priorities for targeted intervention. Prompt actions to identify and help lonely older people would help to decrease the risk of developing serious healthcare issues and help support them to live independently.
DELONELINESS is an interdisciplinary project bringing academic experts from Social Gerontology, Psychology, Design, Smart Composite Material, and Artificial Intelligence (AI) and industrial partners as well as policy makers to: (i) to understand the conditions of being lonely and (ii) to develop a smart system to measure and monitor loneliness. The diverse team represents individuals from a range of ethnicities, gender identifications and career stages.
The timely and accurate identification of loneliness of older people will enable informed care choices at home. The main objective of this research is to determine different levels of loneliness via bespoke multi-sensing monitoring. This could be used to identify those at risk of loneliness and highlight priorities for targeted intervention. Prompt actions to identify and help lonely older people would help to decrease the risk of developing serious healthcare issues and help support them to live independently.
DELONELINESS is an interdisciplinary project bringing academic experts from Social Gerontology, Psychology, Design, Smart Composite Material, and Artificial Intelligence (AI) and industrial partners as well as policy makers to: (i) to understand the conditions of being lonely and (ii) to develop a smart system to measure and monitor loneliness. The diverse team represents individuals from a range of ethnicities, gender identifications and career stages.
Organisations
- King's College London (Lead Research Organisation)
- Housing Learning and Improvement Network (Collaboration)
- KYMIRA Sports (Collaboration)
- South London and Maudsley (SLAM) NHS Foundation Trust (Collaboration)
- KYMIRA Ltd (Project Partner)
- Housing LIN Ltd (Project Partner)
- Thrive Wearables (Project Partner)
Publications
Freya Probst
(2024)
Co-Design of a Loneliness Monitoring System with Older People and Stakeholders
Jessica Rees
(2023)
Psychological experiences of loneliness in later life.
Probst F
(2024)
Evaluating a Smart Textile Loneliness Monitoring System for Older People: Co-Design and Qualitative Focus Group Study
in JMIR Aging
Rees J
(2024)
Qualitative exploration of the lived experiences of loneliness in later life to inform technology development.
in International journal of qualitative studies on health and well-being
Rees J
(2023)
Wearables, sensors and the future of technology to detect and infer loneliness in older adults
in Gerontechnology
| Title | Collage Activity for Co-Design |
| Description | Pre-printed patterns and outlines of the home environment and furniture were created as foundation for collaborative collages of people's home environment. Participants could indicate with pre-printed descriptors and colours, their preferred positioning of the 'Deloneliness' system in their home environment. |
| Type Of Art | Artefact (including digital) |
| Year Produced | 2023 |
| Impact | This artefact will allow to better understand the end-user requirements and develop a portfolio of design principles and specifications to become useful to and usable for older adults. It helps older participants to visualize and communicate their envisioning of the system design. The functioning of this technique was already pilot tested and is in the process of refinement for the first workshop with older participants. |
| Title | Digital and Physical models and Representation of System Concept |
| Description | We created 3D-models and a system concept illustration to reflect the system functioning and all components for evaluation with participants. The visualizations will become part of the paper publications. |
| Type Of Art | Artefact (including digital) |
| Year Produced | 2023 |
| Impact | The concept prototypes helped participants visualize and comment on the technology. It also helped the team to discuss the currently planned sensor placement. |
| Title | Illustration of the Deloneliness System for Older People |
| Description | To communicate the system to the public and advertise the later exhibition of our project, an illustration has been developed. The illustration presents the functioning of the system that is developed as part of the research. At the center of the illustration we find a representation of an older lonely person. The system is consists of a smart textile, its embeddedness in furniture and wearables at home, and the AI interpretation thereof for receiving personalised support and health care. |
| Type Of Art | Artefact (including digital) |
| Year Produced | 2023 |
| Impact | The illustration is to be published in preparation for the exhibition of our project at the London design biennale 2023. Since no picture of our exhibits or a prototype exists at this stage, an drawing was necessary. An appealing visualization will help raise further interest in our exhibition by visitors and it will also help communicate the new research development that takes place. It is to be used for initial advertisement in the upcoming months. |
| Title | Interactive App User Interface |
| Description | We designed an interactive app user interface that can be integrated with sensing clothing and sensing furniture to monitor and store health parameters related to loneliness in real time. Through AI analysis, the system can notify elderly users' families and assist carers in making faster and more effective decisions. |
| Type Of Art | Artefact (including digital) |
| Year Produced | 2025 |
| Impact | The interactive app design enhances the integration of smart sensing technology with daily living. It also fosters innovation in digital health solutions, promoting better connectivity between users, caregivers, and assistive technologies. |
| Title | Product Conceptual Design and Prototypes Development |
| Description | We developed sensing clothing and furniture concept illustration and prototypes basing on user and stakeholders' feedback to reflect the system functioning and all components. The visualizations will become part of the paper publications. |
| Type Of Art | Artefact (including digital) |
| Year Produced | 2025 |
| Impact | The development of sensing clothing and furniture prototypes based on user and stakeholder feedback integrates technology and design to better meet user needs. This human-centered approach enhances the functionality of sensing systems, ensuring they are both practical and user-friendly. |
| Title | Video presenting the Deloneliness monitoring system |
| Description | The video shows the process of wearing and functioning of the loneliness monitoring system over time. |
| Type Of Art | Film/Video/Animation |
| Year Produced | 2023 |
| Impact | The video was completed for the exhibition at the Design Biennale 2023 and later used in co-design studies for discussion. An older man was involved as the main actor who very well represented the target group of the project. |
| URL | https://www.miragenews.com/kings-college-london-to-showcase-research-at-998575/ |
| Title | Wearable electronics design and optimisation |
| Description | We have helped design and optimisation of electronics with related data for WP1 and WP2 for design and the digital and physical models of the concept of a loneliness-monitoring system. |
| Type Of Art | Artefact (including digital) |
| Year Produced | 2023 |
| Impact | The wearable information is important to subjective research in WP1 for ageing people participation investigation to use smart wearables while the designed pattern and location for garment is determinant to the future exploitation opportunity for smart home based monitoring system, which is impacted with outcome of WP2. |
| Description | The DELONELINESS project has made progress in developing a smart system to address loneliness among older adults by integrating psychology, design, sensing systems, and artificial intelligence (AI). The project has successfully identified the psychological and social experiences of loneliness, assessed relevant social policies, and established a framework for integrating these policies with smart technology solutions. The project has also investigated user-centred design approaches and conducted co-design workshops with older adults and stakeholders which informed the development of design principles, user needs, and system specifications. An interactive user interface has also been developed for users, families, and carers. In terms of sensing system development with collaborating universities, biosensors for emotion detection have been optimised, and smart textiles integrated with encapsulated sensors have been developed. Experimental assessment of these textiles is ongoing with predicted challenges. The AI and machine learning component have resulted in the creation of a dataset to train predictive models for loneliness detection using physiological data from wearable sensors. Initial models achieved an AUROC of 0.88, but further refinements, including improved data processing, feature extraction, and resampling techniques, are being implemented to enhance accuracy. However, challenges remain in correlating physiological signals with loneliness, prompting adjustments in data collection strategies. While most project objectives have been met, some aspects such as the full integration of machine learning models and sensors into the final product solution are still in progress. Future work will focus on refining loneliness detection models, incorporating nighttime data collection, and expanding the participant sample to improve model robustness. The smart systems and user interfaces will undergo further development and testing to enhance usability and effectiveness. |
| Exploitation Route | Moving forward, the project findings have the potential to inform policy recommendations on loneliness interventions and social support schemes for older adults. Additionally, the technology developed could be integrated into healthcare and social care settings through collaborations with relevant organisations. Ongoing dissemination efforts through academic publications, media outreach, and stakeholder engagement will ensure the broader impact of the research. |
| Sectors | Communities and Social Services/Policy Digital/Communication/Information Technologies (including Software) Healthcare |
| Description | The DELONELINESS project has had a broad societal, economic, and academic impact, evolving as research findings and technological developments continue to shape public awareness, policy discussions, and future interventions for loneliness in older adults. The project has significantly increased awareness and encouraged conversations about loneliness among older adults. Between June and July 2023, workshops exploring cultural conceptualisations of loneliness engaged 46 older adults from diverse backgrounds (South Asian, Chinese, and Somali communities). These workshops demonstrated an increase in knowledge about loneliness and its psychological and social dimensions. Additionally, collaboration with the private housing sector has facilitated participant recruitment and established partnerships that could support real-world implementation of DELONELINESS technologies in housing and care solutions. Engagement with voluntary sector organisations such as the Wai Yin Society has also helped disseminate culturally tailored loneliness interventions. The project has also had a notable impact on the design and technology sector. One of the key public engagement activities was the exhibit at the London Design Biennale 2023, where the project showcased sensing clothing and smart furniture concepts aimed at detecting and decreasing loneliness in older adults. This exhibition provided an opportunity to engage a broad audience, including design professionals, researchers, and the public audience in discussions about the role of design and technology in tackling social isolation. Additionally, DELONELINESS has developed interactive user interfaces that integrates with sensing clothing and smart furniture to monitor and store loneliness-related health parameters in real time. The system uses AI analysis to notify family members and carers, enabling faster and more effective decision-making. Through co-design workshops with older adults and stakeholders, the design principles and system specifications were shaped based on user needs and preferences. The project also developed conceptual prototypes of the smart sensing system, with further work planned to integrate sensing system into the final product solution. Findings from the project have been shared with healthcare, housing, and voluntary organisations, leading to enhanced understanding of loneliness interventions. The project has informed public engagement initiatives, including blog features and public discussions. It has also led to stakeholder collaboration with organisations such as Housing LIN, What Works Centre for Wellbeing, and NESTA, shaping tailored intervention strategies for different degrees of loneliness. Furthermore, the development of an AI-driven smart system integrating biosensors, smart textiles, and machine learning models has potential applications in healthcare and social care, offering a new approach to loneliness detection and intervention. A key challenge has been recruiting a diverse participant pool, as the majority of participants (90%) were white British and 70% female. To address this, targeted outreach efforts have been made, including multilingual recruitment materials and collaboration with PROTECT research project and Housing LIN to reach underrepresented groups. Another challenge has been the complexity of linking physiological signals to loneliness. While early AI models achieved an AUROC of 0.88, refinements have been needed to address data leakage, class imbalance, and improve generalisability. Nighttime monitoring has been identified as a gap, prompting adjustments to data collection strategies to capture a more comprehensive picture of loneliness patterns. The academic impact of the DELONELINESS project is also significant. Seven peer-reviewed journal articles have been published, with an additional three under review. Research findings have been presented at leading conferences, including the British Society of Gerontology, European Congress of Psychology, Design Research Society (DRS) and Campaign to End Loneliness International Conference. The project has also researched to a new research area, advancing studies on wearable technology for loneliness detection by integrating psychology, design, AI, and digital health. Additionally, student engagement has played a role in building research capacity. The project was awarded a King's Undergraduate Research Fellowship, supporting a third-year Psychology student in conducting qualitative analysis, and two MSc students have completed dissertations analysing DELONELINESS interviews on loneliness in major depressive disorder and the impact of marital status on loneliness experiences. Looking ahead, the project has the potential for long-term impact in multiple areas. The technology development will continue to be refined, with the goal of integrating the smart system into housing, social care, and healthcare settings to offer personalised interventions. Findings will be shared with policymakers to guide strategies for loneliness interventions in ageing populations. Additionally, future research will focus on enhancing sensor system, AI models, expanding data collection, and evaluating the feasibility and effectiveness of personalised intervention recommendations. |
| Sector | Communities and Social Services/Policy,Digital/Communication/Information Technologies (including Software),Healthcare |
| Impact Types | Societal |
| Description | Enterprise & Engagement Fund |
| Amount | £2,500 (GBP) |
| Organisation | King's College London |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 03/2023 |
| End | 07/2023 |
| Description | Research Seed Funding |
| Amount | £800 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | AC10818 |
| Organisation | King's College London |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 03/2023 |
| End | 07/2023 |
| Title | Dataset for Loneliness Prediction |
| Description | This dataset consists of physiological data collected from 9 participants wearing the Empatica watch. The data includes 14 physiological features recorded as a time series, with each data point representing an average over a one-minute period. Additional feature extraction methods were applied to enhance the dataset by generating features at the original sampling frequency (4-64Hz) and aggregating them at the one-minute interval. The dataset is being used to train a machine learning model (XGBoost) for predicting loneliness, as self-reported by participants pressing a button on their watch. Clustering techniques are also applied to identify inherent trends in the data. |
| Type Of Material | Data analysis technique |
| Year Produced | 2025 |
| Provided To Others? | No |
| Impact | This dataset contributes to advancing research on loneliness detection using physiological signals. It enables the development of machine learning models that predict lonely periods, which could inform interventions for mental well-being. The use of clustering techniques provides deeper insights into behavioral and physiological patterns associated with loneliness. The findings could have implications for healthcare, wearable technology, and personalized well-being monitoring. |
| Description | Housing Learning and Improvement Network |
| Organisation | Housing Learning and Improvement Network |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| PI Contribution | Bi-weekly meetings organised with project partners, Housing Learning Improvement Network, to update on the project and organise support for recruitment. |
| Collaborator Contribution | The Housing LIN sent out a specific newsletter to members of network advertising opportunity for interview participants |
| Impact | We have recruited 10 participants directly through Housing LIN and made contacts with independent living providers across the UK. |
| Start Year | 2023 |
| Description | PPIE feedback from READ group |
| Organisation | South London and Maudsley (SLAM) NHS Foundation Trust |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | In October 2023, the Race, Ethnicity And Diversity Group (READ) at King's College London and South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust was consulted on the DELONELINESS project. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Four experts by experience provided feedback on recruitment methods for the qualitative interview study. |
| Impact | Refinement of study poster to be more inclusive of experiences of loneliness. |
| Start Year | 2023 |
| Description | Smart textile with integrated electronics with industrial developer |
| Organisation | KYMIRA Sports |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Private |
| PI Contribution | As the focused work package on smart textile, we have identified the wearable electronics and their integration method for individual sensors. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Kymira, who is industrial partner for smart garment, has met us and discussed the current limitation of the wearable electronics and the expected specification to be developed in this project. |
| Impact | Depending on the collaboration, Kymira and my team have won an Innovate UK grant to develop smart garment for rehabilitation monitoring of knee, starting by Dec 2022. We also had co-publication by attending international workshop, Intake, at Birmingham by October/2023. |
| Start Year | 2023 |
| Title | Smart textile wearables |
| Description | In work package on smart textile composite, we are currently working on the production of the technical products by designing and printing the individual sensors for emotion detection. This is the result of the identification of the appropriate sensors, the determination of the sensors' location for optimal measurements and the optimisation of the selected sensors which is still in progress. The physiological sensors, such as body temperature, ECG/EMG, motions' detection have been printed and tested while the hormone sensors are under design and fabrication for emotion analysis and monitoring. |
| Type Of Technology | Systems, Materials & Instrumental Engineering |
| Year Produced | 2023 |
| Impact | This will impact onto the proposed smart home wearable electronics for garment and furniture design. The collected physiological and hormone data will be integrated within the AI programme to analyse and scale the loneliness. |
| Description | Blog Entry at the Campaign to End Loneliness |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | The blog entry presents findings from a series of workshop with people from minoritized ethnic backgrounds. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| URL | https://www.campaigntoendloneliness.org/What-Does-the-Word-Loneliness-Mean-to-You-Understanding-Cult... |
| Description | Engagement focused blog |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Third sector organisations |
| Results and Impact | Engagement focused blog published by the Campaign to End Loneliness, exploring how technology can be used to measure loneliness, introduce the DELONELINESS project, and support recruitment for interview study. The blog was shared on Twitter by the Housing LIN who have over 4,000 followers. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| URL | https://www.campaigntoendloneliness.org/how-can-we-measure-loneliness-using-technology/ |
| Description | Exhibit at the Design Biennale |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | We presented a concept design of a loneliness monitoring system and a produced video at the London Design Biennale 2023, which took place from the 1st to the 25th of June. London Design Biennale is a three-week long international exhibition and events programme located at historic Somerset House in the heart of London. Featuring world leading design innovation, creativity and research from participants across the globe, the Biennale champions the importance and universal relevance of design in contemporary life and culture. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| URL | https://www.kcl.ac.uk/research/deloneliness-arcade |
| Description | Guest Lecture at Brunel University |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Undergraduate students |
| Results and Impact | In February 2025, Jessica Rees was invited to Brunel University to lecture on Loneliness in Later Life to second year undergraduate physiotherapy students. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2025 |
| Description | Housing 21 Residents Meeting |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | In February 2025, Jessica Rees attended a residents meeting by invitation of the housing manager of an independent living accommodation Housing 21 to promote research activity. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2025 |
| Description | Media Feature: King's College London Blog on Deloneliness Project |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | One of our researchers has written a blog post exploring misconceptions about men's loneliness, emphasizing that solutions go beyond social contact. The feature helped raise awareness and engage a wider audience in understanding the complexities of loneliness in men. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| URL | https://www.kcl.ac.uk/mens-loneliness-is-misunderstood-and-the-solution-isnt-just-about-social-conta... |
| Description | Psychreg Report on Deloneliness Research |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | The online media outlet Psychreg featured an article on our research exploring how smart technology can help combat loneliness in older adults. The coverage highlights key findings from our paper on symptoms of loneliness and the potential role of technology in addressing this issue. This media exposure has helped to disseminate our research to a broader audience, including academics, practitioners, and the general public. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| URL | https://www.psychreg.org/new-research-suggests-smart-technology-combat-loneliness-older-adults/ |
| Description | Seeking Connection Exhibition at the Bush House Arcade |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Our project was presented as part of the "Seeking Connection" exhibition (https://www.kcl.ac.uk/events/seeking-connection-living-well-with-technology-3), where different technology related projects from King's College London were presented. The exhibition lasted from the 1 November 2023 - 26 January 2024 and could be publicly accessed. There was an opening night with around 50 participants from the university and the public from different professional backgrounds. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023,2024 |
| URL | https://www.kcl.ac.uk/events/seeking-connection-living-well-with-technology-3 |